LAFC Signs France Football Legend Olivier Giroud

Forward Olivier Giroud will join Los Angeles Football Club on a Designated Player contract through 2025, with an option through 2026. Giroud arrives in L.A. this summer and will occupy an international roster slot upon the receipt of his P1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).

One of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation, Giroud’s illustrious 18-year professional career has seen him play at the top levels of European football in Italy, England, and France. With Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea, and AC Milan, Giroud has won 11 major trophies and scored nearly 300 goals while making more than 700 club appearances.

A native of Chambéry, France, Giroud is the all-time leading scorer for the French National Team, with 57 goals for his country. Along with LAFC teammate Hugo Lloris, Giroud helped France win the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2021 UEFA Nations League trophy, while also reaching the Final of the 2016 UEFA European Championship and the 2022 World Cup. Since making his international debut with Les Bleus on November 11, 2011, in a friendly against the United States, Giroud has represented France in three World Cups and three European Championships. His 137 appearances rank third all-time in French history, and he is expected to add to that total this summer at Euro 2024 in Germany prior to joining LAFC.

“It is an incredibly exciting day for all associated with LAFC to welcome Olivier, his wife Jennifer, and his family to the club,” LAFC Co-President& General Manager John Thorrington said. “Olivier has a clear hunger to win, which he has done consistently throughout his club and international career. His championship ambition and his qualities as a man and as a player directly align with ours as a club, therefore we believe Olivier will be a great addition as we continue in our pursuit of more trophies.”

Giroud, 37, will join LAFC after completing three successful seasons with AC Milan of the Italian Serie A, where to date he has registered 14 goals and eight assists in 2023-2024, helping Milan to a second-place league finish as well as a berth in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League and Coppa Italia. In his time with Milan, Giroud reached double figures in goals each season, tallying nearly 50 goals for the club in all competitions and helping the Rossoneri win the Serie A title in 2021-2022.

“I am delighted and excited to join LAFC,” Giroud said. “I can’t wait to get to Los Angeles and to play in front of the 3252 and all of the incredible fans.”

After starting his professional career in France with Grenoble, Istres FC, and Tours FC, Giroud joined Montpellier HSC in 2010. During the 2011-12 campaign, Giroud led the league with 21 goals and helped Montpellier claim the Ligue 1 championship for the first and only time in club history.

On July 1, 2012, Giroud joined Arsenal of the English Premier League, where he would win three FA Cups (2014, 2015, 2017), three English Community Shield titles (2014, 2015, 2017), and receive the 2017 FIFA Puskás Award for best goal of the year. He scored 105 goals and registered 40 assists in 253 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal, including 12 goals in 29 UEFA Champions League games. He left Arsenal as the seventh-leading scorer in club history when he signed with Premier League side Chelsea in January 2018.

With Chelsea, Giroud lifted the FA Cup for the fourth time in his career, helping Chelsea win the competition in 2018 before leading the club to the UEFA Europa League one year later. The 2020-21 season would be Giroud’s last at Chelsea, and he made it a memorable one by scoring a team-high six goals in the UEFA Champions League, including all four in a 4-0 win at Sevilla during the Group Stage, to help Chelsea win the Champions League for the second time in its history. In two-and-a-half seasons with Chelsea, Giroud tallied 38 goals and 14 assists in 119 appearances in all competitions before joining AC Milan in July 2021.